Scarecrow 2: Tom's Revenge
by Razorcomic3
Summary: 3 years after the Gallagher Murders, Vanessa and Travis decided to get married! But it won't be long until a certain "friend" from their past realizes this and he'll kill to stop this wedding from happening!
1. Stormy Night

**Scarecrow 2:**

**Tom's Revenge**

The red jeep wrangler was driving through the rainy weather. Inside the vehicle was Vanessa Ramirez. She hated being out in this weather, but her mom and dad called and said they needed her to come to their house right away. The rain was pouring down harder as she tried to see the road in front of her. About 15 minutes later, she found her parents' house. Vanessa opened the car door, but before she got out, she grabbed her umbrella. She opened it, got out, locked her jeep and ran to the porch. She got there and had a difficult time trying to find the key to the lock. After some fumbling, she found the key, opened the door and stepped inside.

"Man, I hate this weather." Vanessa said to herself. She was soaking wet and her long blond hair was a wrinkled mess! She shrugged it off and looked in the living room. There was no sign of her parents. "Mom? Dad?" She looked around again. "Where are they?" she wondered to herself. She decided to check the kitchen. When she went there, there was a flash of lighting and a loud crack of thunder. She noticed a man sitting at the table in front of her with his back toward her. The man was her father.

"Dad!" Vanessa said relieved. "For a second there, I thought no one was here." Her father just sat there, with his back turned like he didn't even hear her. "Dad?" there was concern in her voice. She cautiously walked toward her father. "Daddy?" she whispered. She was within touching distance. She tapped him on the shoulder and he fell to the floor. A flashed of lighting revealed that her father had his throat slashed and his eyes were glassy and his face had a horrific expression. Her father was dead!

Vanessa screamed as loud as she could! She couldn't believe her eyes. She ran out of the kitchen and tried to find her mom hoping nothing happened to her. She went to the living room and she saw her mom slowly coming out from another room in the house. "Mom!" she screamed "We have to get the hell out of here! Dad is dead!" Her mom just stood there. Looking closely, Vanessa saw her mom had a thin line of blood coming from her mouth. "Mom?"

Her mom looked and tried to say something to her. "R-R" she stammered. She coughed up some blood. "Run." She finally finished the word. She then fell to the floor. Vanessa ran to her and saw she was stabbed in the back with a knife deep in her back! Vanessa checked her pulse in her neck. She immediately broke down. Her mother was dead. Vanessa was crying when she heard a creak in the floorboards ahead of her. She looked up and saw her ex-boyfriend, Thomas Barkley, standing a few feet from her! He was leaning against the wall, had his black hair slicked back and had an amused look on his face. He walked over to Vanessa's mother and yanked the knife out of her back.

"So that's where I left it!" he said in a sarcastic tone. He looked at Vanessa. "Hey babe, long time no see huh?"

"You! But how did you escape from the cops?"

"That doesn't matter. What matters now is that you and I are going to be together forever, just like what we used to say years ago."

"I'm not with you! I'm with Travis! Can you get that through your head?"

"Yeah, about that." He paused and took something out of his pocket. He grabbed it and tossed it to Vanessa. She didn't know what it was until she looked at it closer. It was Travis' hand! Vanessa screamed and threw the hand away. She looked away and she shivered. When she looked towards Tom again, he's not there. Instead his alter ego, Scarecrow was standing there in full costume.

"_Do I deserve a hand for that kill or what?" _Scarecrow joked in his deep, scary voice.

"You killed Travis?" Vanessa screamed at him.

"_Yep. Like I was saying, now that he's out of the way, how about me and you get back together and all this mess can just go away?"_

"Just leave me alone!" Vanessa ran away towards the front door and tried to get out. The door was locked tight. Before she could even try to unlock it, Scarecrow lunged forward with his knife and attacked. The knife hit the door and was a few inches away from her head. She ran through the house and tried to find another place to hide when she looked behind her and saw that Scarecrow disappeared! Vanessa panted and cautiously walked forward.

Vanessa walked the hallway trying to find any clues about where Scarecrow went and what she should do. Outside it was still thunder storming. The overall atmosphere made everything seem spooky. She decided to just call the cops. She ran to the nearest phone and tried to dial out. The phone was dead. She tried to turn on the light, but the power was also dead. The storm must have shut down the power or Scarecrow turned off the electricity. Vanessa was hoping that the power would come back on soon.

She got out her cell phone and tried to call the police. No luck, she had no bars and that meant no service. She just went into a room and barricaded herself in. She saw a bed and just decided to crash for the night. She took off her shoes and socks and laid down on the bed. She turned to her side and saw something laying next to her. She looked at it and uncovered it. It was Scarecrow!

"_Hello again!" _he boomed.

Vanessa screamed and tried to run, but Scarecrow grabbed her and held her down. He got on top of her and pinned her down. She looked at him and saw that it wasn't just Tom in a costume. It looked like Scarecrow was a living demon from the depths of hell with his fire eyes and the stitching mouth on his mask was his actual moving lips! _"You don't understand, do you? We will be together forever, no matter what! And if you don't want to, I'll be watching you whenever you go! That's right! I am EVERYWHERE!" _As he yelled that, his head spun all the way around slowly. Vanessa screamed and cried while Scarecrow slapped her. _"Look at me! Look at me! LOOK AT ME!" _ Vanessa screamed bloody murder. "AAAAAAHHHHH!"

"AAAAAHHHHH!" Vanessa screamed and shot upright. She panted and looked around. She wasn't at her parents' house. She was in her own room in her own house. She looked at her clock. It was 2:30a.m. Even though she knew it was late, she grabbed her phone and called her parents to make sure they're okay. The phone rang a few times but her mom answered.

"Hello?" she sounded groggy.

"Hey mom. It's me." Vanessa said.

"Is everything okay?"

"Just calling to check up on you is all."

"Did you have another nightmare about him?" Her mom sound sympathetic.

"Yes." Vanessa started to cry a little.

"Look, it's been 3 years. He's not going to bother you anymore. He's locked up far away from where we are. Everything's going to be okay."

Vanessa was listening closely to her mother's words and she wanted to believe that. "Okay. Thanks mom. I'm sorry to wake you."

"It's fine honey. We can talk more in the morning. Bye."

"Bye." Vanessa hung up and took note that her parents were okay. Now for call #2. She dialed a number and waited a few moments. "Please pick up." She prayed.

"Hello?" a male groggy voice answered.

"Travis, it's me." Vanessa said.

"Vanessa, it's like around 2:30 in the morning. What is it?" he started to get a little angry but then he became sympathetic. "The nightmare again?"

"Yes. I had a nightmare that you and my parents were killed by him."

"Hey, I know you're hurting, but look at it this way, both of us has survived our encounters with him right? Whatever doesn't kill us make us stronger. We can get through this together, baby."

Vanessa smiled at his words. "You're right. I'm sorry I woke you. I just wanted to make sure that you're all right."

"It's okay. Let's get some sleep. I'll pick you up sometime tomorrow and we'll spend some time together. I love you."

"I love you too. Bye." Vanessa hung up and put her phone on the dresser. She couldn't go back to sleep just yet. She got up from bed and walked to her window. It was dark and she saw some streetlights. "He's locked away. I won't see him again." She kept saying that to herself over and over again. She got back into her bed and started to drift back to sleep again. She was sure she's not going to see Scarecrow again, but sometimes in life, things change.


	2. The Trial and The Arrival

100 miles away, there was a very big building. It looked scary and it also had a scaly feeling to it. The name of this building is Scales Asylum. It also had a plague on it that said: 'Resting the emotionally disturbed since 1883.' Inside the building itself was a maze of hallways and rooms. The rooms are filled with patients. Some were crazy, lonely, creepy, paranoid and just plain emotionless. One of the patients was shouting for granola bars from his room. Why he was shouting for them, no one knows.

Inside a room down the hall on the 3rd floor, was Thomas Barkley's room. Tom himself was lying down on his bed, his hands clasped behind the back of his head and he was staring at his ceiling, lost in his own thoughts. "Man," he thought to himself. "How the hell did I end up in this place? Being confined in my room almost all the time and having to talk to a therapist. Do I look like I need therapy?" he sighed. "Okay, so I went insane, dressed up as Scarecrow and killed people, big deal." He drifted off inside his mind. "I can remember that night I was captured."

Flashback to 3 years ago, Tom suddenly found himself in a room with iron bars all around. He didn't know where he was until he looked down at himself. He was wearing some kind of burlap baggy clothes. It was his Scarecrow costume. And then it suddenly hit him. He remembered what happened. He was fighting his father, Capt. John Barkley in an attempt to take over Gallagher University, his father shot him, he tried to retaliate, but he got smacked with a metal trash can lid. Tom tried to escape the room when an officer sat up. He was a good looking cop with blond hair and blue eyes. He was sitting in a chair just outside the imprisonment.

"Who are you?" Tom wondered.

"Hello Tom. My name is Officer Feldman. I work for your father, Capt. John Barkley. So you're the infamous Scarecrow? I'm surprised at this revelation."

Tom shrugged it off. "Big deal. Where am I?"

"At the police station. You're in an isolation cell until your court date which should be about 2 weeks."

"I'm not going to court! You can't make me!" Tom's eyes got angry and he lunged toward Feldman. Luckily Feldman was on the outside and Tom was locked tight inside. Tom suddenly stopped and looked at Feldman. _"You better hope I don't get out of here!" _he threatened in his Scarecrow voice.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Keep your threats to yourself. See you in 2 weeks." With that saying, Feldman left the area while Tom roared like a lion inside his containment cell. 2 weeks later, it was time for Tom's court date. Feldman led a SWAT team to his containment cell. When they got down there, they saw Tom in full costume, mask and all. He spotted the cops and growled at them.

"You try to attack Tom, or Scarecrow or whatever, my SWAT cops will shoot you where you stand. You got that?" Scarecrow looked and saw the cops pointing their shotguns and rifles at him. Scarecrow just simply scoffed. SWAT slightly parted and some wheeled in a gurney with belts on it.

"_You want me to lie down on that thing I assume?" _he asked casually.

"Do it. We don't want you to try anything funny." Feldman remarked. Scarecrow didn't want to, but the SWAT cops are still pointing their weapons at him. Regardless, he did as he was told. When he lied down, the cops strapped him to the gurney and wheeled him out of the station. Scarecrow noticed that the weather was a little cloudy, but nice. The cops placed him inside the police van and they all drove to the town courthouse. The overall ride took about 10 minutes, all throughout the ride, Scarecrow was singing a little song to himself.

When they stopped, they wheeled him out and dragged him to the courtroom. While he was still lying down, he noticed that his father, Capt. John Barkley was walking beside him. He was just looking at his son like he didn't know him. Inside the courtroom, there were people in suits, families and several bailiffs. Scarecrow was wheeled to the front of the courtroom. The gurney he was on stood upright so he could see what was going on.

One of the bailiffs went to the middle of the room. "All rise! The honorable Judge Susan Rodgers residing!" Everybody stood up respectively as Susan Rodgers walked to her spot on the bench. She was a stern looking woman and always had an 'I-don't-trust-them' look on her face. She sat down at her spot in the courtroom.

Scarecrow made a small, soft comment to himself. _"Honorable. Yeah right." _he scoffed.

Judge Rodgers banged her gravel. "The Scarecrow case is now in session!" she looked at Scarecrow. "Would someone take that stupid mask off him please?" His father yanked the mask off and he held onto it. Tom just looked at Judge Rodgers with a wide-eyed stare. She cleared her throat. "Thomas Barkley, you're here because you stole a Scarecrow from Jack Brown's cornfield, killed several students at Gallagher university, and not to mention attempted to kill several officers. What do you have to say for yourself?"

"_It was fun." _he ominously said to the judge. He flashed a wicked grin.

"And stop talking in that voice!" she ordered.

Tom's father smacked him on his side. "Stop that." he whispered.

Judge Rodgers continued. "It says here you killed several students." She named the victims. "Daniel Kolley, Edward Harrison, Brian O'Reilly and Amber Coleman. Would you mind telling us all what was going through your mind at the time?"

"Absolutely nothing." Tom replied in his normal voice. The people gasped and started whispering. Judge Rodgers continued. "You just killed these poor kids without guilt or remorse? You made those families feel extremely awful."

"Damn straight!" yelled a voice. Tom turned towards the source of the voice. It was a man with dark black hair, about 45 years old and was angry at the young man strapped to the gurney. This man was Amber's father. The small group of people around was Amber's mother and little brother. They cried while the father continued to yell. "He killed my daughter and I want him dead!"

"And good morning to you too, sir." Tom said in a mocking tone.

"Shut up! Shut the hell up, murderer! You don't know what you've done to this family! I will see to it that you'll be put on death row!" he boomed. Looking over, Tom noticed that Amber's mother and brother were looking at a photo. It was a photo of Amber lying in her casket at her funeral. The family looked at it and cried intensely.

"Order! Order!" Judge Rodgers declared, banging on her gavel. The room got silent. "I take it the defendant's father is here today?"

John Barkley stood up. He took off his hat in respect and ran his hand through his grey hair. "Your honor," he began. "I can honestly say that I had no idea that all of this was going to happen. I've been on the force for years and I never would have thought of the idea of my son being a killer; This Scarecrow person. I know why he did this and I want to get him help with your blessing. I know somewhere I want to place him for his rehabilitation. All I ask for is one chance. Please, he's my only child." He looked like he was on the verge of tears.

The jury muttered amongst themselves as Judge Rodgers look at Capt. Barkley and his son, Tom. She knew of the certain place he was talking about and maybe it could help him. She and the jury walked into another room. Half hour later, they came back and took their positions. "Has the jury reached a verdict?" she asked.

One of the jurors stood up. "We have, your honor." he said.

"Would the defendant please rise?" John Barkley stood up while Tom just looked and listened.

"We, the jury, find the defendant, Thomas Kennedy Barkley, guilty of murder and attempted murder."

The people in the courtroom gave their approval and clapped. Amber's family in particular. But the judge wasn't finished. "Order!" she banged her gavel. "I do believe he needs to be rehabilitated. So I'm sentencing him to 15 years at Scales Asylum, but if he shows improvement, has good behavior, it can be reduced to 5-10 years. He will be under the watchful eye of Dr. Sanford Caravan, head psychiatrist. Court is adjured." She banged her gavel one last time.

Everybody started to leave the courtroom, hardly looking at Tom or his father. When everybody left, Capt. Barkley, Feldman and the SWAT cops dragged Tom's gurney outside and back into the police van. The van ride this time was not as enjoyable as the last one. Several state troopers came along for the ride and Tom was being rattled around the back of the van. He groaned loudly. About 2 hours later, the police escort pulled into the pathway into Scales Asylum. The van stopped and Tom was being pulled out. As he was being pulled through the hallways, he looked around his new home. People were inside rooms and talking or yelling to themselves.

Before long, the group stopped in front of an older gentleman. He was about 6'2, his hair was a mixture of gray and black, wore glasses that made him look sophisticated and had a caring personality. His name is Sanford Caravan, head psychiatrist of Scales Asylum.

"Hello." he said to the group. "I take it this is the young man I need to look after?"

"Yes." replied Capt. Barkley.

"Very well. Release him and we'll handle the rest."

"What if he attacks you?"

"Don't worry, my staff will detain him. Let him go."

Capt. Barkley and his officers released Tom from the gurney. He looked around and tried to run, but one of Dr. Caravan's orderlies grabbed him and injected him with a strong sedative. Tom tried to fight back, but the sedative was working quickly. In no time, he fell with a thud. The orderlies carried him to a room. 5 minutes later, they came out with Tom in a straight jacket and carried him to his room. One of them stayed behind and handed Dr. Caravan Tom's Scarecrow costume.

Dr. Caravan turned to Capt. Barkley. "We'll put this in my office. I promise you, Capt. Barkley, we'll do everything in our power to make sure he's taken care of. I'll come to his room and offer to talk to him every day if he needs it and I'll make sure he gets the help he needs."

"Okay. Thank you so much Doc." John said gratefully. He and his officers left the building and went home. Tom was being put on the 3rd floor down the hall. The doctors placed him gently on his bed and left the room locking the door behind them.

Flash forward back to the present. Tom was startled from his thoughts thanks to the inmate down the hall, screaming for more granola bars. Tom groaned and continued to stare at the ceiling. Now he started to think about his ex-girlfriend Vanessa and his ex-best friend Travis. To Tom, it was their fault all of this happened. Tom started to become angry. If he ever saw them again, they and everybody around them, will taste death. That is a promise.


	3. Words of Wisdom

At the local police station back in town, numerous officers were going about their daily business, whether it be something serious or something fun to do. Regardless, there's never a dull moment there. In the back of the station was Capt. Barkley's office and inside was the captain himself. John was sitting behind his desk thinking about all the stuff that happened to him. A few years ago, he was thinking about retiring from his post as captain, but he just can't; not yet anyway. Nobody said the job was a walk in the park. Plus if would resign, who would be his successor?

Knock! Knock! Knock! John was startled from his thoughts by those knocks on his office door. He motioned whoever was outside to come in. the door opened and the person was Sgt. Stephens. He was a fairly nice guy with medium length brown hair and had a personality that was both fun-loving and serious. He's also John's partner and best friend. "Are you busy, Captain?"

"I'm just relaxing a little, or at least trying to." John sighed. "What's up?"

"Well, a few of the guys are going to out on a night of fun and relaxation and whatnot, that is when's their shift's over and so will I. You want to come with us?"

John thought about it. He could use a little break, but he just doesn't want to. "Thanks for the offer, but I'm going to sit this one out."

Stephens closed the door and sat in front of his boss' desk. "Is there something wrong, sir?"

John considered telling him, but how could he understand? Stephens wasn't present during Scarecrow's trial only because he had to look after the police station. If he didn't have to do that, John would've want his partner to be there with him. "It's just that I don't think I can handle being a police captain anymore. It was already enough being in charge of everyone in the department, now my son is an emotionally disturbed killer and is incarcerated in Scales! This is too much for me to handle, Stephens. I'm going to retire."

Stephens was shocked to hear the news. "You can't retire! We need you! You're the best, captain." Then he spoke softer and got a little personal. "Look John, I know things have been rough for you recently, but that doesn't mean to quit. You always told me to never give up even when the situation looks bad. I always admired you, you always had the answers, you kept your chin up and you have taught me everything that you know. From my early days when I was a rookie, when I was an officer and when you promoted me to Sergeant. I can't imagine what this department would be without you."

John was touched by Stephens' speech. And he was right. John's not going to quit. At least not right now. "You're right, Stephens." he said. "I'm not going to resign as of right now, but I have been considering it. I'm in my 50s and it's usually the time for people at that age to retire. It's the young people such as yourself, that does the hard work. Besides, I have thought of who my successor would be, so don't worry about it, okay buddy?"

Stephens looked reassured. "Okay, boss." He looked at the clock. It was 8 p.m. "Well my shift's getting ready to be over. Is there anything else you want me to do?"

John sighed. "No, I can't think of anything. Just have fun tonight, but not too much fun or I'll bust you." he smiled and pointed a finger at Stephens and he smiled and pointed back. Stephens said goodbye to his boss and walked over to a group of off-duty cops. They were ready for a night of fun. Pretty soon, all the officers are gone and it was just John left.

John made sure his desk was neat and his paperwork was done. He left his office and locked up the station. He got into his car and drove home. As he was driving, he thought about what Stephens said to him. He said encouraging words to him and even thought it made him feel better, he's still thinking about retiring. As for who would be his successor, John thought either Stephens or Feldman would be perfect for the role of captain. They both have leadership qualities, they care about their fellow officers and they're both fairly young and healthy.

John was pulling up to his driveway. He parked the car and got out. He fumbled with his and he got the door unlocked and went inside. Looking around, he saw his wife, Melissa Barkley, in the kitchen making dinner. Melissa was about the same age as her husband, a little bit shorter, and had an outgoing personality that John loved. She's also a retired elementary school teacher. That's another reason why John wanted to retire, just so he could be near her.

Melissa turned and saw her husband. "Hey honey." She walked over and gave him a hug and a kiss. "How was work?"

John shrugged it off. "It was good. Busted more criminals and saved civilians. The usual."

"It's good to know you're okay. I made steak for us."

John got excited. "All right! Thanks!"

They got their dinner and sat down in front of the TV. A movie was playing but neither of them were paying attention to it. Melissa was busy eating and John was deep in thought. He wanted to tell his wife about his retirement, but not just yet. Melissa noticed her husband was being distracted. "Honey, are you okay? You hardly touched your steak and it's your favorite dish! What's on your mind?"

"Well, something's been on my mind for a while. It's a big thing and I want to tell you when we're in bed later tonight."

"Okay then." Melissa went back to eating her steak while John slowly ate his. A while later, Melissa got up, clean her plate and went upstairs. John was a little slower to do the same routine. After he cleaned his plate, he turned off the TV and went upstairs. He decided to take a shower before going to bed. He went into the bathroom and started to take a shower. John felt at ease a little bit. The hot water against his skin was hot at first, but he got used to it. After washing his body with soap, he turned off the water and got out.

John wrapped the towel around his midsection and walked towards the bedroom. While he was walking down the hall, he couldn't help but noticed the pictures on the wall. The majority of them were of Tom; from when he was a baby, a child, a teenager and a grown adult. John saw these pictures and sighed. Walking down the hall, he stumbled across a room. He looked inside and saw it was Tom's room. John looked around and remembered that even though Tom was a college student, he would still every now and then stay at his parents' house. John and Melissa were touched by this so they left his room exactly the way he left it. But things were different now. John felt a tear forming and continued to walk away.

He reached his bedroom and found Melissa in bed waiting for him. John threw on his pajamas and crawled in bed beside her. "Now, what's wrong?" Melissa asked.

John sighed. "Where did we go wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, are we good parents?"

"Of course we are!" Melissa said in an escalating tone. Then her tone got softer. "Are you still sore about what happened to Tom?"

"Yes. I feel like it's my fault he's not here with us. I had no idea he was Scarecrow until the unmasking. And then, he was elaborating about his crazy plan and I stopped him from acting out on it. He tried to kill me during that fight. If I wasn't wearing my vest, I could've died that night. When I got the upper hand, I tried to kill him. At first, I thought I did until he sprung up and attacked. I knocked him out and to my relief, I found out that he too was wearing a vest. You see where I'm getting at, Melissa? He tried to kill me and I tried to kill him! My son! Our son! I can't take it anymore. This has taking a huge toll on me. I'm going to retire."

Melissa was shocked to hear this, but she wasn't too surprised. John just hugged her and started to cry. She held onto him. "Listen to me John Barkley." she said in a firm yet assuring voice. "You didn't do anything wrong. If anybody did anything wrong, it was Vanessa and Travis. They're the reason Tom was like that. They shouldn't have went behind his back like that. You're a good cop, you just did what you had to do. You yourself said you would do anything to protect the people and that shows how far you would go to accomplish that goal. Besides, Tom is at Scales Asylum, right? And Dr. Caravan is taking good care of him, right? We can just pray that whatever demons Tom has inside of him, Dr. Caravan could at least try to get rid of them. Don't let what happened on that night change your opinion about your decision. If you do decide to retire, just know I will be behind you 100%."

John stopped sobbing long enough to listen to his wife's words. She was right; he can't quit. This town needed him. "You're absolutely right, honey." he said with confidence. "And it's not like I would make that decision just like that. I do have a successor in mind."

"That's good to know. Well, I'd love to stay up and talk, but I'm sleepy. Can we talk more in the morning?"

"Sure we can. I love you and thanks for talking me down." John smiled at Melissa.

She smiled back. "No problem. I love you too." They kissed and snuggled under the covers. In almost no time, Melissa was fast asleep. John however, stayed up a little bit later. He just stared at the ceiling, thinking about what Stephens and Melissa said. They're both right. John knew the good and the bad perks of being a police captain. He just needed to be reminded about that. He turned to his side and started to drift off. "Never give up." he murmured quietly to himself.


	4. New Life

The sun was rising as a new day begun. Vanessa was stirring in bed. She woke up and sat up. She looked around her room. Nothing out of the ordinary from any old bedroom. She got out of bed and went to the bathroom. She took off her pajamas and got in the shower. The hot water streaming down her body felt and she felt at ease. After she was finished, Vanessa got out, dried herself off and went to the closet. She had to work today at Dillard's Department Store and she wanted to look her best. She put on her black business woman suit and went downstairs.

Vanessa went to the kitchen and made some French toast. After she was done eating, she heard a knock at her front door. She was wondering who would want to see her at this hour. She went to the door and looked out the peephole. She saw it was her boyfriend, Travis. She smiled and opened the door.

"Hey handsome." Vanessa said.

"Hey honey." Travis replied. They kissed and went to the living room. Vanessa turned on the TV and decided to watch whatever's on until it was time to leave. Travis sat down on the couch and Vanessa sat beside him, her head resting on his shoulder. "Is everything all right with you this morning?" Travis asked politely.

Vanessa shrugged. "Not really. I'm still having nightmares about him. He put everyone at Gallagher through hell; Us in particular. Maybe I should see a psychologist or something."

"That sounds like a good idea. How's everything at work? I see you're all dressed up and ready to go."

"Work's good. I'm getting ready to leave in a few minutes. How's everything at your work?"

"Same old routine every day. Wake up, get dressed and head off to Walmart. Being a sales associate is fun and all and I get to talk to a lot of people, but this isn't what I want to do with my life. All I wanted to be was a football player for the NFL. But because my shoulder was damaged beyond repair, Thanks to Scarecrow, I can't throw a football anymore let alone play the sport." Travis started to tear up.

Vanessa noticed and gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. "It's like you told me the other night. We both survived the Gallagher Murders. Let's live our lives the best we could." She looked at the clock. It was 8:00a.m. "I'd love to talk, but I have to get to Dillard's. Let's continue this later tonight okay? I love you."

Travis sighed. He didn't want to end the conversation, but they both had to go to work. Regardless he smiled back. "I love you too, honey." They hugged and kissed and went to their cars.

Vanessa got into her jeep wrangler and drove away. She listened to some songs on the radio and sang along to some of them. She was driving past various building and businesses and in no time, she saw Dillard's Department Store. She parked in the parking lot and walked inside. She went to the back of the store to clock in. After she was done, Vanessa went to the jewelry section of the store to start her shift. She looked to her right and saw a fellow co-worker walking towards her. She was a few inches shorter than Vanessa, black curly hair and deep brown eyes. Her name is Martha Peterson.

"Hey girl! How you feeling?" Martha asked.

"Doing fine, Martha. A little tired, but fine." Vanessa replied.

"That's good. I was looking for you. Just to give you a heads up, Dillon is looking for you. Odds are he's trying to make a move on you."

"Can't he get it through his head I'm dating Travis and not interested in dating him?"

"I don't know. He's crazy sometimes." Martha looked further behind Vanessa and saw someone walking towards them. He was wearing a jumpsuit with pockets all over and was pushing a cart with supplies on it. His name is Dillon. "Speak of the devil." Martha groaned.

Dillon wheeled his cart to a stop and looked at the ladies. "Hello my beauties; Especially you, Vanessa." he said in a suave voice.

"Dillon," Vanessa began. "How many times do I have to tell you, I'm dating Travis! Can you get that through your head?"

"I can't help that you're pretty honey. And it doesn't help your cause since you look so fine in that black outfit, baby!"

Martha groaned. "Don't you have a toilet to unclog or something?"

"No, I did that last night. I got all the time in the world right now. So what were you guys talking about?" before they could reply, Dillon's pager went off. "Looks like I'm needed somewhere else ladies. But before I go, remember Vanessa, the offer is on the table." He winked and lightly touched Vanessa's check with his finger. He turned and walked off taking his cart with him. Vanessa and Martha looked on with disgust.

"I hope for his sake, he washed his hands before he touched me." Vanessa said in a disgusted tone.

"I do too." Martha agreed. "Well we better get ready for our shifts. We got stuff to sell and money to make!" Vanessa smiled and together with Martha, they went to their positions.

Meanwhile, Travis was driving in his black Pontiac. He was thinking about the conversation he had with Vanessa early this morning. He was also thinking that he didn't want her to leave for work, but she had to go to make money. He reached Walmart and parked in the parking lot. He looked into the back and saw his blue sleeveless vest and his name tag.

Travis put on his work attire and went inside. Walmart is always busy with endless people going in and out every single second of the day. He was walking towards the back when someone called his name. He turned and saw a man coming towards him. He was about Travis' height, had a shaven face and had a personality that reminded Travis how he used to act in college. His name is Paul Herring.

"Hey Travis! What's up, buddy?" Paul asked.

"Just the usual stuff; Ready to have another workday of talking to random people?"

"Yep, who doesn't love talking to people? You know, I was born to mingle with people since I was born! I told the doctor I wanted a bottle…"

"Time out in the chatterbox department, Paul! Save the conversations for the customers, okay buddy?" Travis smiled and playfully patted him on the shoulder. The 2 workers were walking when they saw another worker putting away board games. He was shorter than Travis and Paul, had a goatee, and a bald head. His name is James Morrison.

"Hey James." Travis and Paul said in unison.

James turned around and smiled. "Hello Paul. Travis. How are you guys?"

"Same old every day, man." Paul replied.

"You got that right." Travis agreed.

"Anyway, I've been thinking. After our shifts over, you guys are invited back to my place for movies! You in?"

"I'm there!" Paul replied.

"I don't know about me. I was thinking about seeing Vanessa after work." Travis answered. He looked at his friends. "Put me down as 'maybe'."

"How are you guys anyway?" James asked.

"We're doing great!" Travis replied smiling. Everyone looked at the clock on the wall. It's time to go to work.

"Let's discuss all this after work. Let's all meet at the electronics department after our shifts, okay?" Paul suggested.

The 3 friends said their good-byes and went to various locations in Walmart. Travis was walking toward the front. He was thinking about all that happened just now: A fairly good job, good co-workers and friends and a beautiful girlfriend. What more could a guy ask for?


	5. Tom's Therapy: The Killings

Dr. Caravan was sitting in his office. Being the head psychiatrist at Scales wasn't an easy job, but there were some benefits. He looked at the wall and the clock said 4:00p.m. He knew what time of the day that was. He left his office and started walking down the halls. While he was walking, he ran into one of his orderlies. He was a tall man, with black hair, black mustache and beard and had a personality that doesn't tolerate bad patients. His name is Dr. Dave Denlon.

"Hey Doctor." Dr. Denlon said. "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to have a session with Tom."

"Barkley? That freak? I don't like him. I was just up in his room a few minutes ago. He was giving me a lot of attitude."

"He was huh? You just worry about doing your job, I'll take care of Tom."

"Yes sir. Well, have fun talking to the freak." Dr. Denlon walked off casually.

"He's not a freak!" Dr. Caravan yelled back. He shook his head and continued walking down the hall. He got into the elevator and rode it up to the 3rd floor. He walked down the hallway to Tom's room. He unlocked the door and found Tom himself lying down on his bed, hands clasped behind his head. "Hello Tom. How are you feeling today?"

Tom just turned his head towards the doctor. "What do you think?" he asked coldly. "Does it look like I really need therapy?"

"I promised your father that I'd look after you while you're staying at my facility." Dr. Caravan sat in a chair beside the bed. "What I want to know is why did you do it Tom? Why did you kill those poor kids at that university?"

Tom sat up. "Poor kids, doctor? If you knew what they did to me, you wouldn't be calling them 'poor kids'."

"What did they do that made you want to kill them?"

"They were rubbing in the fact that Vanessa dumped me for my best, or rather my ex-best friend Travis. In fact, I can remember when I, or actually, my other self, rampaged at Gallagher…" Tom started to relax and let his mind wander.

Flashback to 3 years ago, Scarecrow was prowling around the darkness of Gallagher University. He was casually walking when he heard someone talking. He looked and saw Daniel Kolley walking along the courtyard. Scarecrow smiled and crept closer. _"Daniel."_ he whispered in his scary voice.

Daniel turned and looked around. Scarecrow ducked out of his sight. He slowly poked his head up and saw Daniel looking worried and started to walk away. Scarecrow chuckled and followed him. He could tell Daniel was starting to panic so he decided to up the ante. _"Daniel."_ he whispered louder. Right after he did that, Scarecrow tiptoed ahead of him and hid in the shadows just in front of him.

Daniel started to sweat. He didn't want to be out alone at night. He started to run back to his dorm. While he was running, Scarecrow tripped him and watched him fall. He stepped out of shadows so Daniel could get a good look at him. Daniel turned and saw Scarecrow looming over him menacingly.

"What the hell are you?" Daniel whispered.

"_Well, I'm a friendly Scarecrow of course!" _Scarecrow taunted.

"You are so dead." Daniel got up and punched Scarecrow. While he was punching him, Scarecrow was thinking.

"_He's got some nerve trying to fight me. This fool's going to regret it!"_ Scarecrow grabbed his knife from his pocket and stabbed Daniel in the stomach! Daniel lost his breath and fell to the ground. He got up and walked off, holding his bleeding stomach. _"Aw, leaving so soon? This party's just getting started!"_ Scarecrow held his knife and threw it as hard as he could to Daniel's back. The knife went deep into his spine as Daniel fell down.

Scarecrow walked over to him, smiling an evil grin. He yanked the knife out of his back and kicked him so Daniel was lying on his back, facing him.

"_Okay, I know this is a bad time to say this, but I got you in the back and you're going to die!" _he sang in a singsong voice.

Daniel opened his eyes and he had a shocked expression on his face. He knew who his attacker was! Before he could do anything, Scarecrow stabbed him numerous times in the chest. Scarecrow saw that his eyes rolled back and his body was still. He just looked at his bloody knife, walked off and went into the darkness, laughing softly.

"Okay, I'm going to stop you for a second, Tom." Dr. Caravan said suddenly. "You killed Daniel Kolley and you have no regret?"

"Hey! Out of everybody at Gallagher, he was the one who rubbed the situation in my face the most! He deserved to die!" Tom had a wide-eyed glare at the doctor.

"Well, what about your ex-girlfriend? Did you kill her as well?"

Tom sighed. "I tried to…" He started to have his mind wander again.

Back to the flashback, Scarecrow was creeping in the lounge of Gallagher when he saw Vanessa resting on the couch. He crept up to her and put his hand on her chest. "Travis, what're you doing?" she asked surprised. She sat up and saw Scarecrow right behind her! She screamed and started to run. Scarecrow was in hot pursuit. He saw she ran behind a corner when all of a sudden WHAM! He fell backwards on his back and something landed on his chest. He put 2 and 2 together and deducted that Vanessa hit him with this math book!

"_I know math gives me a headache sometimes, but damn!" _ he groaned. He got up and continued the chase. Scarecrow ran after her all the way until she locked herself in her room. Scarecrow screamed gibberish and banged on her door for a while until he saw something that caught his eye. It was an ax used for fire emergences inside a glass box. He walked up to it. _"You know, in retrospect, I really shouldn't do this. But I will anyway!"_he said in a sneaky tone.

Scarecrow smashed the glass box and retrieved the ax. He walked to Vanessa's door and hacked it away piece by piece! In no time, he broke down the door and walked inside, still clutching the ax. He looked around and noticed that Vanessa vanished. He searched all over the room. _"Vanessa…"_ he growled. After standing around, Scarecrow left the room. He tossed the ax aside and walked away.

"Wow. So that's it?" Dr. Caravan asked. "After the killings and the attacks, you didn't have any guilt or remorse in any shape, way or form?" Tom didn't reply back to the doctor, but he absorbed what he just said. Tom sighed deeply.

"To be honest doctor, I did. Not to my victims but to someone else, but I don't want to talk about now though; Maybe later."

"I understand. What about any of your other victims?"

"Well, I was kind of debating whether to kill Amber or not. I don't want to go into too much depth like I did with Daniel and Vanessa though."

"It's okay. Tell me please, if you want to."

"Well, Amber was Vanessa's roommate and best friend and also one of people that was rubbing the situation in my face. One night while she was doing laps in the pool, I fastened an ankle weight around her ankle and drowned her. I was thinking whether I should spare her or not. I decided I was against saving her, so I watched her drown at the bottom of the pool. I think this is the 1st time I'm having regret killing one of my victims." Tom looked a Dr. Caravan with a blank look but sad eyes.

"You have a conscience, Tom. This session that were having right now is proof of that. Don't let what happened with this whole love triangle thing cloud your judgment." The doctor sat up and turned to the door. "Our time's up Tom. We'll continue this later. He smiled at Tom and left the room, locking the door behind him. Tom got up and saw his reflection in a small puddle. Within seconds, Scarecrow was staring back at him.

"_Hello handsome." _Scarecrow said.

"What do you want?" Tom asked.

"_Are you going to listen to that old guy? He's a quack!"_

"He's trying to help me. Also he knows what he's talking about and I think he really cares about me."

"_He's a quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!"_

"And he's not a duck, he's a doctor!" Tom groaned and went to bed. He was thinking maybe he did need therapy after all.


	6. Ladies man

Travis was still working at Walmart, waiting for his shift to be done. Even though he could almost any job his boss throws at him, his preferred job is working at the sports equipment. Just because he can't play sports anymore, it doesn't mean he hates them entirely. He likes giving people advice on some sports and his preferred methods of scoring points.

He looked at his phone and saw that he had 30 minutes till the end of his shift. He looked up from the counter and saw a woman that was browsing around the aisles. She was looking at the hockey gear when she turned and saw Travis at the counter. She smiled and walked towards him. He noticed she was walking to him and tried to act casual.

"Hello there." She said.

"Hello, is there something you need help with today?" Travis asked politely.

"I'm just looking at some hockey gear and I was wondering if you know anything about the sport?"

"Not too much I'm afraid. I'm more of a football guy."

"Yeah, I can somewhat tell." She smiled and laughed slightly. "Have you played a lot of football?"

"Yeah, but I was forced to retire under unfortunate circumstances."

"Really? What happened?" She was curious and genuinely interested.

"Well, I don't want to bore you with the details, but something happened to my right shoulder socket and I had an extreme surgery on it. They fixed my shoulder, but the damage was so intense that I couldn't throw and football ever again." Travis sighed after that.

The woman looked sympathetic. "Aw, I'm so sorry to hear that," She paused to read his nametag. "Travis. I bet you were amazing out there on the field." She stared into his eyes and smiled.

Travis smiled. "Well I was okay. All I ever wanted was to be in the NFL, but I'll always love the sport." Even though he has a girlfriend, he couldn't help but admit that the woman he was talking to was kind of cute. Her medium length dark hair, green eyes, not to mean nice figure, his natural hormonal instincts couldn't resist. Regardless, his gentleman demeanor was stronger. "Well, the best I can tell you about the hockey stuff are get some pads, a mask and probably a first-aid kit."

The woman laughed. "Thanks for the advice. I'm just going to gets some pads." She grabbed some and paid for them. "I'll see you around, Travis. It was nice talking to you." She smiled and left the sports department. Travis just smiled and watched her leave.

"Well well, what am I seeing here?" Travis turned and saw Paul, supporting a look that's between a smile and a smirk. "You were flirting with that woman, were you?"

Travis blushed. "No, I was just being friendly is all. I didn't make any moves and didn't get her number. Hell, I don't even know her name!"

"Come on buddy, I can tell when a woman digs you. It's not your fault that you're such a ladies' man. Look I'm happy that you have Vanessa; I really do, but don't you ever miss getting back out on the field, if you catch my drift?" He playfully nudged Travis' shoulder.

Travis rolled his eyes. Paul really did remind him how he used to act in college. Travis also knew that his buddy was just messing with him. "Thanks for your encouraging words man, but she doesn't like me like that. If she did, she would've asked me for my number or would've asked me if I was single. Besides, I'm thinking about marrying Vanessa.

Paul's eyes lit up. "Really?"

"Yeah; I mean, we've been together for almost 4 years. We've been through everything together, good times and bad, and we've also had happy moments. I'm so much in love with her." Travis started to smile and stare into space.

"So you're going to marry her, buddy? Will I be invited to the wedding?"

"Who's getting married?" Travis and Paul turned and saw 2 people walking towards them. They were Neil Layman and Victor Morrison. Neil and Victor attended Gallagher University with Travis several years ago. They both survived Scarecrow's rampage and happy to be alive; Victor in particular. He was the fall guy for Scarecrow's murders and was almost killed for it. Luckily, the police and the courts deemed he was innocent. Even though Travis back then, thought Victor was responsible, once he found out he was innocent, he got to know Victor and became good friends with him.

"Oh hey guys." Travis gave Neil and Victor high-fives. "Yeah, I'm going to marry Vanessa. Hopefully I'll pop the question soon."

"How is Vanessa, by the way?" Neil asked.

"She's doing great. You 2 should visit us sometime. I know she'll love that. Speaking of which, what're you guys doing here?"

"I here to talk to my brother, James." Victor replied. "I'm reminding him about something my mom said to him earlier."

Travis raised his eyebrows. "James is your brother?"

"Yeah, I know it probably doesn't seem like it, but that's because I'm the handsome one." The group couldn't help but chuckle at the statement. "Beside the point, what's everybody doing after work?"

"The gang are going back to my place for night of relaxing, but if Travis is going to purpose it might as well be a bachelor party!" Paul joked. "You guys are welcome to join us!"

"I'm there!" Victor declared.

"Why not? I'm down for some fun." Neil replied.

"All right! Boys, this is going to be an awesome night!" Paul laughed with his friends and entire group walked to the front to meet up with James. Travis was walking with his friends and can't help thinking about his beautiful girlfriend. If she says yes, he won't call her his girlfriend anymore. She'll be Mrs. Travis Linderman. Vanessa Linderman. He thought it had a nice tone to it. He kept repeating the name over and over in his head.

About an hour away, a similar activity was happening at Scales Asylum. The patients were in the recreational room interacting with each other while the orderlies were over-looking the activities. Among the orderlies were Dr. Caravan and Dr. Denlon. Tom was sitting in a corner playing with the game where you put the shapes in their proper holes and right now he was trying to put a square block through a round role.

"Damn you, round hole." Tom mumbled to himself. And it wasn't too long when a familiar voice whispered in his head.

"_Look, Mr. I'm bad at shapes! You don't have to deal with this. Just bust out of here and we can kill Travis and his cheating bitch! We don't have to stay and deal with this constant sh-"_

Just then, a small voice interrupted his thoughts. He turned and saw a small girl next to him. She looked about 18, messy brunette hair and looked sweet. Her name is Andrea and she was locked up for having multiple delusions. She's also attracted to Tom and he knows this. "Hi Tom." she said.

"Hey Andrea." Tom said casually. He felt Andrea snuggle up all on him. "What're you doing?"

"Just want to lay on my friend is all. Is that a crime?" she smiled sweetly yet disturbingly.

"Nope." While Andrea snuggled even more on Tom, he turned and saw another girl was looming over him. She was about 20, had dark black hair and also liked Tom, but hated Andrea for always flirting with him. Her name is Veronica and she was locked up for attempting to free the animals from the zoo.

"What're you doing all up on him?" Veronica demanded.

Andrea just scoffed at her. "None of your business! He's my friend."

"He's my friend, too!" Veronica grabbed Andrea and threw her across the room. The patients looked and watched. Andrea got up quickly and charged at Veronica. She clawed at her and bit her in the neck. Veronica yelled at punched Andrea. Just when it was going to escalade, the orderlies interfered and shot them both with sedatives. Tom glanced at the needles and read the brand name. It said '30 ml syringe.' Tom recognized the name from when he drugged Victor and Paula Quincy with those needles at Gallagher. Dr. Denlon made the orderlies drag Andrea and Veronica away.

Tom watched as the ladies were dragged to somewhere else in the sanitarium. While that was happening, another patient sat down next to Tom. He was about 17, had short blackish hair and can't cope with the outside life. That's why he was locked up. His name is Curt and he's Tom's good friend in the asylum.

"They were fighting over you were they?" he asked.

"Yep." Tom replied casually.

"Dude, you are so lucky to have girls fight over you. You're a ladies' man, I swear!" he nudged Tom in the arm. Seeing Andrea and Veronica couldn't help Tom but to think about a certain girl in his life. He wanted to tell Dr. Caravan about this in his next session with him. He looked around and saw him carefully watching the other patients. Tom walked over to him.

"Hey Doc. I was wondering; can we have another session here in a little bit? I have something on my mind that I'd like to talk about. Please?"

Dr. Caravan looked at Tom and smiled. "Why, of course Tom! I'll have a couple of the orderlies escort you back to your room and I'll be in there in about 20 minutes, okay?"

"Okay." Dr. Caravan had them escort Tom back to his room and he just laid on his bed waiting for Dr. Caravan to come in. Something was on his mind and for the first time ever since he arrived here, Tom really wanted to share it.


	7. Tom's Therapy: Best Friends

Tom was lying down on his bed, waiting for Dr. Caravan to come into his room. Ever since he first arrived at Scales, he almost always refused to talk about what he was feeling, but because of Andrea and Veronica were fighting 20 minutes ago, he had a sudden urge to vent about what was on his mind. He also knew that Dr. Caravan was actually excited to talk to him because usually the doc was the one to start the conversation.

After a short while, Dr. Caravan entered Tom's room. He sat down in a chair across from the bed. "You know, Tom." he said. "I'm sorry if I sound all irrational, but this really is the first time you've actually wanted to talk to me! I hope I'm not persuading you to not talk."

Tom looked at him. "No, doc. I understand this like headline stuff." He chuckled and so did Dr. Caravan. "But seriously though, I do have something on my mind that I really want to talk about."

"I'm all ears, Tom."

"Well, Andrea and Veronica, they reminded me of a girl I know. We went to Gallagher University together and while my alter-ego was rampaging the university, she became scared and moved out to make sure she doesn't get hurt or killed. Despite all that, she cared for me, was there for me when Travis and Vanessa backstabbed me and apart from killing Amber, I felt guilty for scaring her off. I felt bad that I pretty much destroyed what we had."

"What is her name, Tom?"

Tom looked into Dr. Caravan's eyes with his own sad eyes. "Katie Bates. She was my best friend and honestly, I don't know even if we're still friends. My identity was known to the public about me being Scarecrow and I haven't heard much from her since she moved out from Gallagher." Tom sighed and looked to the floor.

"Where you and Katie close?"

"Yes doc, we were. In fact, I can remember the first time I met her." Tom laid back and let his mind relax and wander.

Flashback to 3 ½ years ago at Gallagher University, Mr. Gordon was just dismissing his class. Tom was getting ready to leave when Mr. Gordon wanted him to come to his desk. He wondered what does he want with him. He looked at Tom.

"Tom, I've been looking over your grades and well, they need to improve or you're going to fail this class."

"I know, sir. I just can't understand the material sometimes."

"Well, Tom. I've also thought about that and I'm assigning you a tutor. Katie?"

Tom turned and also noticed that a girl was still in the classroom despite everyone else left. She had brown hair down to her shoulders, wearing somewhat bookish glasses and despite the glasses, she looked cute. She walked up to the desk.

"Yes, Mr. Gordon?" she asked.

"I'm assigning you to tutor Tom. We're going to have a test over the course of chapter 7 and I need you to make sure he gets the material. I'm also assigning you because you're one of my top students. I know you can do it." He smiled at his 2 students. "Well I must be off, I'm hungry. I'll see you both in class tomorrow." He turned and left the class.

Katie turned at looked at Tom, who was slightly embarrassed that Mr. Gordon called him out. She noticed this and decided to break the ice. She extended her hand to him. "Hello, we haven't formerly met. I'm Katie. Katie Bates."

Tom extended his hand and shook hers. "Tom Barkley. So you're going to tutor me, huh? I could use all the help I could get. Where should we go?"

"Wherever people go when they need to study: The library." Katie and Tom walked over to the library with their science books. They went inside and sat down at a table and the tutoring began. About 20 minutes into it, Tom just couldn't focus. Katie noticed and talked to him. "What's wrong, Tom?"

Tom sighed. "I don't know why you're wasting your time helping me. I'm never going to pass this class. Science has always been my worst subject and I don't want this to be all for nothing."

"This won't be for nothing, Tom. I'm not going to rest until you pass this test. I'm not going to give up on you. You have my word." She gave Tom a reassuring smile.

Tom smiled back. "Thanks Katie. Let's keep doing this."

"That's the spirit!" They continued to study until the sun went down. It was starting to get dark as Tom and Katie exited the library. Even though they just met, Tom didn't want Katie to walk to her dorm building by herself so he offered to escort her back to her dorm and she accepted. They walked until they were in front of the building.

"Do you think I'll do okay on Mr. Gordon's test tomorrow?" asked Tom.

"I'm sure you will, Tom. We went over the material and you got the hang of it once we made it something that you could relate to. I have all the confidence in you." Katie smiled at him. "I'll see you in class tomorrow." She turned and walked into the building. Tom watched her leave and then he walked back to his own dorm.

The next morning, Mr. Gordon was preparing his class for the chapter 7 test. Tom was nervous about the test as he did some quick studying before he came to class. He looked behind him and saw Katie. She looked up and gave him a reassuring smile and a thumbs up. Tom smiled and gave a thumbs up in return. Mr. Gordon passed out the papers and the test began. 1 hour later, the test over and so was the class. Tom wondered how he did and Mr. Gordon said he'll let him know how he did later in the day.

A few hours later, Tom was sitting in the courtyard at one of the tables, enjoying the sunny weather. He was looking around and saw some students doing the same thing, enjoying the weather. He saw some students throwing a football around to each other.

"Tom!" he turned and saw Mr. Gordon coming towards him. Tom wondered what could he want. Whatever it was, he has to be big. "I graded your test. Here you go." Tom grabbed the test paper and looked it over. He saw his grade at the top right of the page. A B+. Tom was shocked and he looked at Mr. Gordon. "Congrats, Tom; That grade assures you that you won't completely fail the class. Keep up the good work!" He patted Tom on the shoulder and walked off.

Tom smiled a mile wide grin and started to cheer. He went to the library to try to find Katie. Sure enough, he found reading her math book. He whispered her name and she looked up and smiled.

"Hey Tom. What's up?" she asked.

"I just talked to Mr. Gordon and I found out my grade. I got a B+!" He smiled.

Katie was happy for him. "Good job, Tom!"

"I couldn't have done it without you. You stuck by me and never gave up on me. Thank you so much for helping me and believing in me." Tom hauled Katie up from the chair and gave her a meaningful hug. Katie was surprised, but she smiled and hugged him back. Tom released her and picked up her math book she dropped when he hugged her. He handed it to her. "Well I guess I'll leave you to your math studies."

"Yeah okay. I'll see you around Tom." Tom turned to leave, but he didn't want to leave his new friend by herself. He turned to face her.

"Katie?" he said.

"Yes?" she replied.

"I'm actually going to meet up with some of my friends to hang out for a little bit. You want to come with me?"

Katie was surprised to hear this. She thought Tom was just going to use her to just make sure he doesn't fail his test and then not talk to her again afterwards. He actually wanted to be friends with her. "Okay sure." She put her math book in her backpack and the 2 friends left the library together.

In the weeks that followed, Tom and Katie became closer, spending time with each other, watching TV, and just talking to each other. During that time, Katie became attracted to Tom and that attraction turned into a crush. One day, she was walking through the courtyard planning to meet up with Tom when she saw a girl talking to him. She had long blond hair and looked beautiful. She kissed Tom and walked off. Katie saw this and felt a little bit jealous. She walked to Tom.

Tom turned and saw her. "Hey Katie."

"Hey Tom. Who was that girl you were with?"

"Oh, That's Vanessa. She's my girlfriend." Tom didn't notice that Katie seemed slightly deflated when he said that. "Something wrong?"

Katie tried to hide her disappointment. "No, nothing's wrong. Just something on my mind, but nothing to worry about."

"Oh. Well, let's get going. Movie's about to start soon and I don't want to miss a minute!"

As they were walking Katie was thinking about what Tom was saying. "He has a girlfriend." She thought to herself. "I can't expect someone as handsome as Tom to be single. She's a lucky girl. If I don't ever get to be Tom's girlfriend, I'll always be his best friend."

Back to the present, Dr. Caravan was listening fully to Tom's story. "Wow, you guys really were close. If your friendship really is giving, it'll come back to you tenfold."

"Are you sure about that? We haven't talked since she moved out. She hates me." Tom looked at the floor and a tear was starting to form. Suddenly, there was a series of bangs coming from outside Tom's door. Dr. Caravan looked and it was Dr. Denlon.

"Hey freak! You got a visitor!" he boomed.

"I'm not a freak, you fat monkey!" Tom retorted. Dr. Denlon ignored him and walked off. Tom turned to Dr. Caravan. "I really hate that guy."

"Don't mind him, Tom. The main thing is you've got a visitor!" Dr. Caravan tried to lift Tom's spirits.

"If it's my dad, I really don't want to talk to him. He probably thinks I'm a crazy person because I'm locked in here."

"Hey, your father loves you no matter what. Let's go to the visitors hall." They both walked down the hall to the elevator and pressed the button to the ground floor. Tom walked to the visitors hall and sat down into a chair and saw on the other side of the shatterproof glass his visitor. Tom was shocked to see this person. It wasn't his father, but it was a woman, with long brown hair, glasses and had a smile on her face. It's Katie Bates!

"Katie?" Tom asked in a small voice.

"Hello Tom." she said.

"How-how did you know I was here?"

"I talked to your father. He pretty much gave me the address. I thought I'd visit you."

"I thought you would completely forget about me considering what happened at Gallagher."

"Tom, I would never forget about you. You're still my best friend no matter what. I'll always be there for you just like when I tutored you several years ago." She smiled at him.

Tom started to tear up. "Thanks Katie. So how's everything going lately?"

"Things have been going good. I'm majoring in math and science and I have been taking up self-defense classes too."

"That's great to hear. I'm really glad you came to visit me, Katie. It means a lot to me." Tom smiled.

"No problem. Next time I'm in the area or I'm bored, I'll come visit you." She looked at her watch. "Well, I have to get going, I got a self-defense class in about 2 hours and I don't want to be late. See you later, Tom." Katie gave him a smile, got up and walked away. As she was walking, she giggled to herself. "He really does look cute when he gets emotional and in that light blue scrubs outfit." She thought to herself. Yep, it's true. Katie still has a crush on Tom despite his descent into insanity.

Tom was watching Katie leave and sighed. Dr. Caravan noticed and smiled at him. "Looks like you still got your best friend, Tom."

"Yeah, I think so too, doc." Dr. Caravan escorted Tom back to his room. When he got there, Tom just laid on his bed, hands clasped behind his head. Today was great, he saw and talked to Katie after 3 years, she reassured him that they're still best friends and that made Tom happy. But despite this, he had a feeling deep in his gut that something is going to ruin his mood and even though he doesn't know it yet, his gut feeling was right.


End file.
